Wind energy systems, as are now being increasingly used as alternative energy supplies as a result of disappearing energy resources, are conventionally installed on land or in the sea close to the coast. Tidal power energy systems are in turn typically installed on the seabed, while the tidal range or the flow of the sea water is used as the primary energy source.
A wind energy system of this generic type is specified in “Power Quality Measurements Performed on a Large Wind Park at Low and Medium Voltage Level”, E. Ghiani et al., International Conference on Power System Transients, Jun. 4-7, 2007. In this document, the wind energy system has a wind power turbine, which is connected to a generator, with the generator typically having at least two stator windings. The stator windings are connected to a transformer which is used to produce a high AC voltage, as a result of which the electrical energy associated with this can then be transported onwards with no losses and efficiently.
However, particularly in the case of wind energy systems which are installed off-shore in the sea, or in the case of tidal power energy systems which are typically installed under the water surface, a transformer, in particular oil transformers, is undesirable for installation reasons and for maintenance reasons. Furthermore, the failure rates and the susceptibility of the energy system faults rise sharply, and the availability decreases accordingly, if the transformer is not adequately and regularly maintained.